12668 Piedmont Trail Clarksburg, MD 20871
June 16, 2010 by dspahr · Leave a Comment
LEASED- Meticulously cared for 3 br + 2.5 ba 3-level luxury townhome with detached 2-car garage in Clarksburg Town Center. 2600+ sq ft of living. Gourmet kitchen, office, living area, and gas FP on main lvl + private yard w/ large deck. 2 bdrooms and large living area on 2nd lvl. Super lux master suite w/ walk-in closet on 3rd lvl w/ lux master bath. Near Milestone shopping and 270 & 355.
817 Woodside Parkway Silver Spring, MD 20910
June 16, 2010 by dspahr · Leave a Comment
SOLD (Buyer Side)- Seldom available Keats Model with four finished levels! Absolutely stunning with every possible amenity and located just a short walk to metro. Delights to treat include 10ft ceilings on the 1st floor, sumptous owners retreat with sitting room, fabulous gourmet kitchen, gleaming hardwood floors, banquet size dining room with butlers pantry, truly 7 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, nanny suite, a perfect 10!
Decipher your home loan’s Good-faith Estimate
June 3, 2010 by dspahr · Leave a Comment
5 Tips for Deciphering Your Home Loan’s Good-faith Estimate
By: G. M. Filisko
A good-faith estimate is an approximation of the fees and interest rate you’ll pay on a home loan.
When you’re shopping for a mortgage loan, it’s sometimes hard to understand the jargon lenders use in the good-faith estimate explaining the costs and fees you’ll pay when taking out a mortgage.
When you apply for a mortgage, the lender has three days to give you a good-faith estimate of the fees and interest rate you’ll pay, as well as other loan terms. Here are five tips for using the new three-page form to your advantage.
When you apply for a mortgage, the lender has three days to give you a good-faith estimate of the fees and interest rate you’ll pay, as well as other loan terms. Here are five tips for using the new three-page form to your advantage.
1. Know which fees can increase and by how much
In the past, lenders provided an estimate of the costs involved in getting your home loan, and if those costs rose by the time you closed on your home, tough luck. The good-faith estimate shows some fees the lender can’t change, like the loan origination fee that you pay to get a certain interest rate (commonly called points) and transfer costs.
The form also lists the charges that can increase by up to 10%, like some title company fees and local government recording fees. The lender must cover any increase over that amount.
Finally, the good-faith estimate lists the fees that can change without any limit, such as daily interest charges.
2. Look for answers to basic loan questions
In the summary section, lenders explain your loan’s terms in simple language. Can your interest rate rise? If so, a lender must spell out how much the rate can jump and what your new payment would be if it does. Can the amount you owe the lender increase, even if you make your payments on time? If it can, a lender must show you the potential increase.
3. Evaluate the “tradeoffs” on a loan
In the new “tradeoff table,” you can ask lenders to provide details on the tradeoffs you can make in choosing among home loans. If you’d like the same loan with lower settlement charges, how will the interest rate change? If you’d like a lower interest rate, how much will your settlement charges increase?
4. Compare apples to apples with the shopping chart
Included on the good-faith estimate is space for you to list all the terms and fees for four different loans, so you can make side-by-side comparisons.
5. Know what’s missing from the good-faith estimate
The new form lacks some key information, such as how much you’ll reimburse the sellers for property taxes they’ve already paid on the home. It also doesn’t tell you the amount of money you’ll have to bring to the closing table. Some lenders have created supplemental forms providing that information. If yours hasn’t, ask for it.
10 Ways to Prepare for Homeownership
April 14, 2010 by dspahr · Leave a Comment
1. Decide what you can afford. Generally, you can afford a home equal in value to between two and three times your gross income.
2. Develop your home wish list. Then, prioritize the features on your list.
3. Select where you want to live. Compile a list of three or four neighborhoods you’d like to live in, taking into account items such as schools, recreational facilities, area expansion plans, and safety.
4. Start saving. Do you have enough money saved to qualify for a mortgage and cover your down payment? Ideally, you should have 20 percent of the purchase price saved as a down payment. Also, don’t forget to factor in closing costs. Closing costs — including taxes, attorney’s fee, and transfer fees — average between 2 and 7 percent of the home price.
5. Get your credit in order. Obtain a copy of your credit report to make sure it is accurate and to correct any errors immediately. A credit report provides a history of your credit, bad debts, and any late payments.
6. Determine your mortgage qualifications. How large of mortgage do you qualify for? Also, explore different loan options — such as 30-year or 15-year fixed mortgages or ARMs — and decide what’s best for you.
7. Get preapproved. Organize all the documentation a lender will need to preapprove you for a loan. You might need W-2 forms, copies of at least one pay stub, account numbers, and copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements.
8. Weigh other sources of help with a down payment. Do you qualify for any special mortgage or down payment assistance programs? Check with your state and local government on down payment assistance programs for first-time buyers. Or, if you have an IRA account, you can use the money you’ve saved to buy your fist home without paying a penalty for early withdrawal.
9. Calculate the costs of homeownership. This should include property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities, and association fees, if applicable.
10. Contact a REALTOR®. Find an experienced REALTOR® who can help guide you through the process.
FHA: New Rules and Limits
March 24, 2010 by dspahr · Leave a Comment
A Price Worth Paying
Buyers will be pinched by FHA’s new rules.
By Robert Freedman | March 2010 | Realtor Magazine
No one likes it when changes to mortgage underwriting make it harder for working households to secure safe and affordable home financing.
But in the case of the FHA’s tightened lending requirements announced in late January, the end may justify the means. The policy changes are designed to shore up the FHA’s capital reserves and help the agency do a better job of managing risk.
“These changes, while serious, are reasonable,” says John Anderson, CRS®, GRI, a 30-year real estate veteran who chairs the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ Federal Housing Policy Committee. “I think the FHA is doing the right thing.”
Nonetheless, Anderson, broker-owner of Twin Oaks Realty Inc. in Crystal, Minn., acknowledges that many households will be adversely affected. Buyers will have to either spend more to secure financing or scale down what they buy.
Among other things, the FHA is raising its upfront mortgage insurance premium to 2.25 percent from 1.75 percent, boosting the minimum down payment to 10 percent for borrowers with a credit score of 580 and below (it stays at 3.5 percent for everyone else), and reducing permissible seller concessions from 6 percent to 3 percent.
The FHA also will seek legislation to raise the annual mortgage insurance premium to a level above the current cap of 0.55 percent. The agency already has authority to institute the other changes.
“Striking the right balance between managing the FHA’s risk, continuing to provide access to underserved communities, and supporting the nation’s economic recovery is critically important,” FHA Commissioner David Stevens said in a statement.
Anderson, looking at his own market in Minnesota where the median home price is under $200,000, says the impact of the changes will be subtle. For many first-time buyers, including younger households that haven’t had a chance to develop much of a credit history, the credit-score floor will be a hurdle because the minimum 10 percent down payment will simply be out of reach unless they can get help from elsewhere, like family. “But even mom and dad are stretched these days,” he says.
The reduced seller concessions will hurt, too, because these funds typically help buyers take care of closing costs like title insurance and the mortgage origination fee. “With that now limited to 3 percent, buyers might have to come up with another 1 percent of the mortgage amount,” Anderson says.
The higher up-front mortgage insurance premium won’t affect the amount of cash buyers will need to raise, as that can be financed. But it will affect how much house they can afford, and could increase their monthly payments by $50 to $100. “That extra cost can have a big impact,” he says.
Yet Anderson thinks these hurdles are a reasonable price to pay to ensure a healthier FHA, which today commands about 40 percent of the mortgage market nationally and far more than that in regions like the Midwest, with a strong tradition of using FHA-insured loans.
What would be worse, he says, is for the FHA to imperil its financial health. “Over the last couple of years I would have been out of business without the FHA,” he says. “They say they’re trying to strike the right balance and I think they are.”
